CG21 J is for Justice
by Miz Em
Summary: Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to B is for Burden of Proof. AU, after Janus List.  This is number 21!  Q is for Quagmire is the 1st in the series. There will be no further updates to this piece.


Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to B is for Burden of Proof. AU, after Janus List. This is number 21! Q is for Quagmire is the 1st in the series. There will be no further updates to this piece.

--

"I heard from Wendy," Sean told Steele the next day. "She's logged in and picked up the information you had Charlie provide on the dummy system, and she's passed that on. Something about the US focusing attention on the North Korean situation for the time being and putting interest in China on the back burner?"

"Yes, I was hoping that would help defuse the situation, buy us a little time," Steele looked at Sean. "Does she know if it's helped?"

"Well, she says they're a little confused by it and wary of the sudden turnaround, but they're holding back till they get a little corroboration. I'm not sure where they're getting that corroboration though."

Steele was silent for a moment. "I'll have to talk to the President and see if I can get permission to leak that elsewhere. Then I'll talk to Charlie about the best way to go about doing that. See if she can get anything to us that will connect the Chinese angle with Spencer, especially voice recordings of any kind." Steele paused thoughtfully, "Anything else of interest?"

"Yes, actually. She's found out where their missile site is. It's a small island in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 30° 34' north, 55° 41' west, called Sainte Antoine. I looked into it. It's privately owned, and it took a little digging, but I finally traced it to a Chinese corporation."

"So it's ultimately owned by the Chinese government?" Steele frowned, unhappy that they had cut the distance by half in purchasing that island. And it was in the Atlantic Ocean, so the cities on the East Coast, including Washington DC, would be the targets. Steele sighed, the Russian missiles aimed at one side of the United States, and the Chinese aimed the other. "Do we know anything about the island's defenses?"

"She's working on that now," Sean told him. He hesitated for a moment then said softly, "She's pushing hard to redeem herself, but I told her to take it easy. I don't want her to get caught."

_I don't either, but I doubt we have the same reason,_ Steele thought sadly. _I don't want to lose an asset in a difficult situation. He just cares about what happens to her as a person. What have I become?_ But he just said, "Yes, keep a rein on her. We don't want to lose her."

Sean nodded, but his eyes were wary.

Steele sighed to himself. _He knows we have different motives._ "I hear from Don that you found Spencer's motive for this conspiracy."

Sean brightened, "Yes, it made all that time digging around in old papers worthwhile. David's back today, so he's doing the digging." He laughed softly, "Colby's happy as a clam working with David again."

"Has he got anywhere in tracing Spencer?"

"Not yet. I think he…." Sean trailed off when he saw Charlie hovering at the door. He smiled, "Come on in, I'm done."

"Oh, you don't have to leave on my account," Charlie said quickly. "I just wanted to let Steele know that I matched Spencer's voiceprint with the Mastermind's." He glanced warily at the two men when there was total silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Oh, yes," Steele said on a happy sigh. "Professor Eppes, you have in your hands the linchpin of our proof against Spencer." He smiled at Charlie, "Now, I know you got upset at your brother for questioning your math, but I have to ask this. Are you certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that the algorithm will provide matching voiceprints only if the voice samples are from the same person? That there's no way to modulate someone else's voice into the same voiceprint?"

"Yes, I am," Charlie said with determination. "If it will help strengthen the case, I will consult with other mathematicians and even physicists at CalSci to double check my work. I understand why you're asking this, and I'm willing to do so, even though I know my math is sound."

"Thank you. The more expert opinion I have supporting it, the better the case I'll have," Steele said quietly. "It's no reflection on your math, Professor, I assure you." He smiled and handed Charlie one of the tapes that Luchenko had provided, "In the meantime, I have another voice sample I'd like you to match. If it matches, it'll tie Spencer to yet another part of the conspiracy. And I hope to have yet another by the end of the day."

Charlie nodded, "Just let me know when you have it." He got up and left with Luchenko's tape.

"The case is coming together," Sean looked pleased.

"Yes, it is," Steele said quietly. "Now all we have to do is find him, and we can put him behind bars."

"I'll go see if I can help Colby in any way."

Steele watched as Sean left, glad that he seemed to have worked out his relationship with Colby. He knew that they wouldn't have let their personal relationship affect their jobs, but it always made things easier when the agents got along. He thought sadly of the strain all of his agents were under. The signs of stress were obvious in everyone, but most obvious in Luke. Luke had always been a rock, silent and reliable. While his deductive skills were still sharp, his control seemed to be slipping, even more so when it came to Fiona's well-being. He was afraid that it would be too late to save his friend before the case was over, but he knew Luke would not leave him in the lurch, not in the middle of an investigation as big as this one. Sighing, he turned his attention to the million details that he attended to as part of his job.

--

"There's the sucker," Colby's voice was a mixture of triumph and annoyance. He'd spent many hours chasing leads only to reach dead ends in his traces for Spencer Lowell. Until now.

"It's about time," Sean said lazily from his temporary desk across from David's cubicle. David looked up and grinned at Sean's taunt. They both laughed when Colby scowled at them.

"He's been paying cash," Colby turned back to his screen. "And he's living just outside of Duquesne, PA, across the river, actually, in Braddock. The house is under a woman's name. I'm tracing it now, but I'm guessing a female relative."

"Talk about going back to the scene of the crime. How did you finally track him down then, if he's been paying cash?" Sean leaned forward with interest.

Colby grinned triumphantly, "He wrote a check for auto insurance that bounced. I got it off the wire today. I couldn't get information on the bank accounts without a search warrant, but the bounced check was a different story."

"Now to make sure he really is Leo Spencer in hiding as Spencer Lowell, and not some poor sap that happens to also be named Spencer Lowell," Sean said dryly, grinning when Colby shot him an exasperated look.

"I wish I could get local law enforcement to check into it, but it'll only raise his suspicions. We'll have to go out there ourselves."

"No, we will," Don told him. "It's under FBI jurisdiction now."

"We're not really going to play the jurisdiction game, are we?" Sean said lazily, but this time there was a hint of a threat in his voice. Across from him, Colby bristled at the implication.

"No, we're not, so back down," Don told him, "Steele and I discussed this and he thought it would be better if the FBI arrested Spencer and leave the DDFS out of that particular loop. We don't want Spencer wriggling out of any loophole, claim excessive use of force or something. It's apparently something he's been claiming about DDFS for the last few years."

Both Sean and Colby relaxed a little. It made sense. But it wasn't going to stop them from checking with Steele about it.

The computer beeped and Colby turned to look at the screen, "Just as I thought. The house is in his mother's name. She passed away some years ago but he never changed the name on the deed. It's a good way to remain hidden."

"If you remember not to bounce a check," David said dryly.

Colby looked up from the screen and grinned, "And here's his Pennsylvania driver's license. It's amazing what happens when you catch a tiny break."

"Looks like our guy," Megan said softly, shaking her head as she looked at the familiar picture of the former White House Chief of Staff. "I'll get things in motion so we can make the arrest."

--

"I'm going with them," Luke said firmly. He saw the dubious look Steele cast him and added, "I'm not going to do anything. I just want to make sure he doesn't get away."

_I guess I don't blame him._ "Alright, but stay with me at all times."

Luke smiled faintly, "Somehow I didn't think you were going to let the FBI make this arrest without being there in person."

Steele shook his head, "You know me well." Then he said softly, "We're almost there, Luke."

"I'm not going to crack, Dan," Luke said, just as quietly, touched by his friend's concern. "I know everyone's wondered about it in the last few days." He smiled when Steele said nothing. "It's going to be fine. How are Colby and Sean holding out?"

"Fine, actually. Hannah keeps Colby grounded, and Sean, well, I don't know. He seems to have settled things in his mind, and is mostly back to normal. Or whatever passes for normal for him anyway. Dating the nurse seems to help."

"I know having Fiona in my life helps," Luke said quietly. He decided not to ask about Steele. He knew Steele had never found the time for a personal relationship. He'd taken the losses from the DDFS attack to heart and had become more vulnerable as a result of it. Luke wasn't sure if Steele would be able to continue as head of DDFS if he couldn't piece his hardened facade back together. "When do they plan to leave?"

"Tonight, on a charter plane. We'll have to get some sleep on the plane to be fresh for the arrest. Don's called and asked for backup from the local FBI office as well."

"Are Sean and Colby going as well?"

For the first time that day, Steele smiled, "No. And they've been highly irate about it."

Luke chuckled, "I'll just bet. Did you give them a reason?"

"Yes, I need them here for the Russian and Chinese side of things. Same reason I wanted Fiona to stay," he glanced pointedly at Luke, "And not because you wanted her out of the line of fire."

"It was worth a shot," Luke suppressed a grin.

Steele ignored that, "But it didn't appease them any." He grinned wickedly, "I told Fiona to check with you."

Luke groaned. Fiona was going to be very unhappy with him if Steele let her think she wasn't going because Luke had requested that she be kept out of the line of fire. "Gee, thanks!"

"Anytime." He laughed when Luke was still vexed at him about what he told Fiona by the time they got up to leave for the charter flight to Pennsylvania.

--

After takeoff, Don took a quick glance around the plane. There were only four occupants. He and Megan from the FBI, Steele and Luke from DDFS. David was still on crutches from the gunshot wound to the thigh, but being David, he was still upset at not being allowed to go. Megan was her usual calm, reliable self. Don spared a moment of gratitude that he had someone like her on his team. She was intelligent and strong, and he always knew his team was in good hands even when he couldn't be there.

Don studied Luke, apparently asleep. He had seemed his usual self, if you could call that impassive mask his usual self. But his eyes were clear and apparently normal. Out of curiosity on his part, Don had stopped by the holding pen at DDFS the last time he was there to see Biden and Bad Boy, and he still shivered whenever he thought about the two of them.

Bad Boy had been in a great deal of pain, even though Don couldn't see what was physically done to him. Nothing other than the broken arm which had already been set in a cast anyway. At the time Don stopped by, the sedative had worn off and Bad Boy had just begun to scream again, from whatever pain had been inflicted. He had been relieved, and seen the looks of relief on the faces of the guards, when the sedative had been quickly administered. They'd told him a doctor had already been by to see him, was seeing him on a regular basis, but Don wasn't sure what the doctor was going to be able to do for him.

There was no sign of physical violence on Thad Biden, though he had seemed jumpy and frightened. Don thought Luke might have used Bad Boy's condition to 'encourage' Biden to talk. The guards had confirmed his suspicions. Luke had withheld the sedative from Bad Boy and left Biden in the cell next to Bad Boy for several hours. Don shook his head; several hours next to a man screaming in pain would mess with his head too. 

He glanced over at Steele, steadily working through some paperwork. He had gained a measure of respect for the man since they'd begun to work together. Although Steele's job was largely administrative, he had a sharp, incisive mind that also understood the realities of working in the field. And he could still shoot a gun with a great deal of accuracy. Don hadn't minded when Steele asked to be there, even though he knew Steele would likely not have an active role in Spencer's arrest.

But he wished Steele had allowed Colby to be there. He missed Colby's skills, particularly in situations like these. Don brooded over the circumstances that had brought Colby to his team, circumstances which had also forcibly torn him away. He wondered if there was any way he could entice Colby back to the FBI. Sighing, he pushed the thought away. Colby was obviously happy working at DDFS, and Steele seemed to value him highly. 

Settling back in the chair to get some sleep, Don grinned to himself when he realized he would also have liked to have had Sean along. The rascal was fun to be with and capable too. Sean seemed very fond of Don's father, and Don was willing to accommodate anyone who was protective of his father.

Before long, even Steele had settled down to sleep and there was silence in the cabin.

--

Don surveyed Spencer's house and the quiet tree lined street it was located. The local FBI team had gathered and was getting into place. He took a moment to enjoy the beautiful reds and golds of the maple leaves. He rarely noticed the passing of the seasons out in Los Angeles; the signs weren't nearly as noticeable out there. But here in Pennsylvania, the chill was distinctly in the air, and the fall colors were the centerpiece everywhere they looked. 

"Surveillance tells me that he's been there all night and hasn't left for the day," the Pittsburgh FBI SAC told him. 

Don nodded in acknowledgement, "It's your show. We're right behind you." Chewing rhythmically on the gum he habitually popped in his mouth during situations like this, he got into position and waited for the signal.

He saw Steele and Luke get into position in his peripheral vision, then his attention focused on the men who were at the door.

"Open up! FBI!"

Don wondered for a moment if Spencer would run, but was surprised when Spencer actually opened the door.

Megan must have seen his eyebrows rise in surprise because she murmured softly, "It's the narcissistic personality disorder. He just can't believe that he's not the top dog in any situation."

They followed the FBI team into the house. One of the local agents was already cuffing Spencer, who was looking around at them with his lips curled in a superior sneer.

"Would you like to do the honors?" The SAC asked Don.

Don stepped up to Spencer whose eyes narrowed on him. "Leo Spencer, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you at interrogation time and at court."

Spencer snorted in derision.

"Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

"I understand my rights more than you could possibly know," Spencer was cold and patronizing. "You'd better have a good reason to arrest me, or I will have your career for this."

"You are being arrested on two counts of conspiracy against the United States government, two count of conspiracy against Federal law enforcement agencies, and ten counts of murder in the first degree as a result of conspiracy against a Federal law enforcement agency." Steele's cool voice came from the doorway.

"You!" Spencer spat in fury when he saw Steele. His face turned red then purple when Luke stepped in next to Steele. The rage simmered just barely below the surface, but that rage was suddenly replaced by a crafty look. He laughed.

It was that laugh that chilled Don's blood, and he saw Megan shift slightly as well in reaction to it. 

"Arresting me won't help you," Spencer's eerie calm was far more frightening than his rage. "Events have been set in motion that even I can no longer stop." He turned a serene smile on Steele and Luke. "You'll both suffer. You'll both pay for what your fathers did to mine."

"What events? Where? How?" Steele demanded.

But Spencer refused to say anymore. He continued to cackle with glee as the agent pushed him out the door. Megan and Luke followed to make sure that nothing untoward happened in transporting Spencer to a federal prison.

"What do you think?" Don asked warily. The world weary sigh from Steele didn't make him feel much better.

"I think we still have a lot of work to do," Steele answered bitterly. "We'll have to check and see how things are in the Chinese and Russian camps. I dread the thought, but it looks like it all comes down to the missiles."

"At least we have him," Don said. He sighed when he wasn't reassured by the thought, and he could tell Steele wasn't either.

"Cold comfort," Steele said. His always squared shoulders drooped in weary defeat.

"It's not over," Don said sharply.

Steele smiled and replied softly, "No. No, it's not. Not by a long shot."

--

"I received a coded message from Luchenko," Fiona told Steele when he checked in on from the plane later.

"What did he have to say?"

"That he has all the papers and passes ready for two men. He doesn't think that the Kremlin will fire the missiles without provocation, but he thinks we should get moving and deactivate the missiles as soon as possible."

"We'll talk when I get back," Steele leaned wearily back in his seat, wondering how it all came down to this. "Anything from Sean and Colby about the Chinese?"

"Not yet," Fiona said softly, "But they headed out to meet with Wendy just a few minutes ago."

"Tell them to pull her out as soon as she gets them what we need," Steele told her. "Things are getting more and more unstable. And we still don't know what events Spencer set in motion that he can't stop."

"I'll let them know."

"I'm going," Don told him.

Steele raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Going where?"

"You'll need two teams, one for the Chinese missile site, and one for the Russian. You have Sean, Luke, and Colby. I'm going. I'll make up the second man on the second team."

Megan turned to Don in surprise, but settled back in her seat at the stubborn expression on his face.

Luke's lips lifted in a ghost of a smile, but he didn't say anything.

Steele thought he saw approval in Luke's eyes. "DDFS has other operatives who can make up the fourth."

"I know. But I'm still going." With an air of finality, Don settled back in his seat and closed his eyes.

With a wry chuckle, Steele did the same. _I wonder what his father will have to say about that._

--

"I did manage to get a recording of Spencer talking to Dwayne Carter. I think someone kept it as leverage over both of them," Wendy told Sean and Colby as she handed the CD over. "Things have quieted down a little with the information we sent them about US focusing on another foreign situation, but I think the missiles have been delivered to the island missile site. I understand they'll be positioned sometime today or tomorrow. Washington, DC is their main target."

"That's not good," Colby looked worried.

"I've got everything I could on the island's defenses. But you realize things might change over the next few days," Wendy told them. She sat back with a sigh, worn out from the constant looking behind her shoulder, but somehow satisfied from what she had managed to accomplish.

Sean smiled at her, "Good job, Wendy. We've been told to pull you out. We're going to have to put you and your family in a witness protection program."

Wendy's eyes rounded in surprise. "Right now? Are you sure we have everything?"

"We'll have to make do with what we do have," Colby told her. "Steele said to pull you. He must think it's unsafe to leave you there."

"Is there a problem?" Sean asked curiously.

Wendy sighed, "Not a problem, really. I'm just not sure I'll be able to get my parents to pull up stakes and go into hiding."

"They won't have a choice in the matter, not if they care about their safety. And yours, for that matter," Sean told her. "I think that's worth giving up a mahjong game or two, don't you?"

That made Wendy laugh, "How did you even know about those? No, I'm thinking more in terms of the jewelry store, and my father's standing in the community."

"He's the one who got you into this mess in the first place, right?" Colby asked softly. "It's a small enough price to pay."

A sad smile crossed her face, "My father is old school Chinese. Daughters are of no value." Then she said briskly, "Well, if he chooses to stay, then he's on his own. I'll make sure my mother comes with me."

"Ah, speaking of jewelry stores," Colby murmured as they left in Sean's car, "Do you know of a reputable one, other than your father's?" He ignored the amused grin on Sean's face.

Wendy smiled. She knew Hannah from the redhead's consignment arrangement with her father's jewelry store. And it hadn't escaped her notice how enthusiastically Colby had kissed Hannah after the hostage crisis in her father's jewelry store. "I do, indeed."

--

"I have the reports on the voice print matches, including the samples from your Russian and Chinese sources," Charlie told Steele. They were all sitting in the conference room at DDFS after the debrief on Spencer's arrest. He was a little uncomfortable with the sober silence that had settled over all of them and sought to fill it with something math-related. It the one thing that brought him comfort. "I've even sent included reports from tests made by a number of reputable mathematicians and physicists at CalSci that support my findings." He acknowledged Larry with a nod with his reference to physicists.

Steele smiled, "I appreciate it, Charlie." He saw Don send Charlie a sharp look and laughed to himself. The young professor was going to be in for some brotherly ragging at some point in the future for including other expert opinions. He turned his attention back to the crisis at hand. "Do we have any information on the types of missiles are at the Chinese and Russian missile sites?"

"The missiles are of Chinese and Russian make respectively," Sean told him, "But the guidance systems are American." He shrugged when all glances swung to him. "No one knows how those got in their hands."

"Courtesy of my buddy Dwayne, I'll bet," Colby said bitterly. "And through Dranovsky to the Russians, no doubt."

"Know anything about disarming missile guidance systems?" Steele asked Charlie, only half in jest.

"Um, no, not really," Charlie stammered.

"I do."

Everyone looked at Larry. The calm assurance in his voice helped make Steele feel just a little better about the situation at hand.

"Do I want to know why you know?" Charlie looked at him in astonishment.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Larry murmured serenely. Then he laughed, "You should see all your expressions. Especially yours," he told Megan. He grinned, looking for all the world like a mischievous leprechaun. "I've always wanted to say that, especially to a bunch of agents like you." But he hastily suppressed his mirth when he saw several of the agents there dart quick glances at Luke. For a moment he wondered if the joke had been in bad taste, after all, the DDFS agents around the table had probably killed without so much as an afterthought. Quickly, he continued, "But I do indeed know how to disarm the missile guidance systems. I helped design the earlier ones and the principles are the same. Whom should I show?"

"Luke, Sean, Colby and Don," Steele told him.

"Don! What do you mean, Don?" Charlie's voice rose and cracked on his brother's name.

"Easy, Charlie," Don told him calmly. "I've told them I'll make up the second man on the second team."

"What's Dad going to say?" Charlie was getting increasingly agitated. He was well aware of the dangers.

"You let me deal with that, okay, buddy?"

Charlie opened his mouth, as though to say something else. But he shut it without saying it. The look in his eye told Don that he hadn't heard the end of it. Charlie took the logistics planning for the missions even more seriously once he knew his brother planned to be on one of the two teams.

"Alright, two two-man teams," Steele murmured.

"I don't know why it has to be men," Fiona muttered blackly, scowling first at Luke then at Steele.

Steele ignored her, but Charlie thought he saw Luke wince. He decided he must have imagined it when Luke remained impassively silent.

"Sean, you and Don will go to Petropavlovsk," Steele continued. He sighed when Don interrupted him.

"Why Sean?" he demanded to know.

"Yes, why?" Sean was equally indignant. "I've been working with Colby on the Chinese angle. Why not with Colby to Sainte Antoine?"

"Because you have more experience with ice climbing," Steele said patiently. "And I need Colby on Sainte Antoine because he has more experience with the Chinese. Don't you speak a little Chinese now, Colby?"

"Very little," Colby murmured. He was not displeased to be paired with Luke. They'd become close after 'dying' together.

"Ice climbing!" Don looked startled.

"Petropavlovsk is about as far north as you can get before meeting Santa," Steele's lips twitched slightly. He almost laughed at the astonished expressions on everyone's faces when they realized he had cracked a joke.

"Lovely," Don muttered. Somehow he'd forgotten that it would more than likely already be deep winter in most of northern Russia. He brightened, "But if we get passes and papers, maybe we won't have to climb anything."

Sean snorted with scorn.

Prudently, Steele continued before they totally disrupted the meeting, "It's no picnic on Sainte Antoine either. The waters are always choppy in that area, and just now beginning to get icy at this time of year. You won't have the luxury of arriving with papers and passes. The US Navy will drop you off nearby in a submarine, and you will have to swim to the island, complete with scuba gear."

Colby and Luke nodded, each already making plans on weapons and the like that they would be able to carry with them on such an approach.

"We'll make sure to have 'eyes' and 'ears' on you," Steele referred to electronic means of communication, both audio and visual. "You'll check in on a periodic basis, so we know things are going well. There'll be transportation nearby waiting for your all-clear signal." He looked soberly at everyone, "Alright, learn how to disarm those guidance systems. Then spend what's left of the day with your loved ones." He didn't mention the possibility of the missions going awry. "I'll be working out the rest of the logistics with the various sources. We'll start out first thing in the morning."

He shook his head when Sean and Don continued to bicker on their way out.

Megan's lips twitched with amusement as she rose to leave. "I think they like each other. They're fighting like brothers."

"God, I hope so," Steele said fervently.

She laughed, "Relax, it'll be fine."

_As fine as such things can ever be._ But he did allow himself a small smile after everyone had left. After all, they were good men, and the missions couldn't be in better hands.

--

A/N: I made Sainte Antoine up. I needed an island and there wasn't one where I wanted it to be! I also made up the frequency modulation thing. Actually, I'm sure it's possible, but I didn't do any research on it.


End file.
